The Tygrine Cat

by Inbali Iserles

Fleeing his homeland upon his mother's death, young Mati hides on board a ship and steps out on a new land. He tries to join a community of feral cats that holds territory in the marketplace, but they are suspicious of outsiders. Mati doesn't understand their customs, has strange abilities and looks different too. (From the descriptions I guessed he was an abyssinian). Mati tries to make friends and learn their ways, but frightening events start to occur and the innocent newcomer is held to blame...

I was disappointed that I didn't care more for this one. It has a lot of adventure and a bit of a mystery too, since Mati can't quite remember where he came from and is unaware of the ancient powers he holds. Turns out he is being chased by an assassin and must face a final battle with an evil creature. It's a fast-paced story with a strong fantasy bent but I guess I just wished for a little more character depth and the feline lore- traditions, superstitions, invented names the cats called things- dogs and humans for example were "hinds" and "oolfs"- wasn't quite rich enough to seem real. I just couldn't get into it. But I bet my ten-year-old will really enjoy this book.

Abandoned         242 pages, 2007

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